World
ECR undecided ahead of von der Leyen's reelection vote
The European Commission president must gain the backing of the European Conservatives and Reformists group to secure her second term.
The debate over Ursula von der Leyen’s re-election as president of the European Commission has heated up across European capitals — and Rome in particular.
As things stand, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni — who is also the president of the European Conservatives and Reformists Party (ECR) — remains undecided over whether to give von der Leyen her backing.
The commission chief held a 50-minute meeting with the ECR parliamentary group on Tuesday morning, at which Meloni’s Brothers of Italy reportedly requested a radical change in the EU’s approach to the Green Deal.
No official statement was issued at the end of the meeting, meaning that for now, the ECR’s stance on von der Leyen’s reelection is not clear.
According to Gaetano Quagliariello, Head of the School of Government at the Luiss University in Rome, von der Leyen needs the support of Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party if she is to continue in post.
“I think Italy’s PM is able to influence at least part of the ECR,” Quagliariello said — adding that given Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and Spanish party Vox have left the group, Meloni will find it easier to convince those who remain should she decide to give von der Leyen her support.
Meloni seeks top commissioner job for Italy
As far as Meloni is concerned, a key bone of contention in the ongoing negotiations is the appointment of an Italian commissioner to a sufficiently prominent role.
Speaking at the recent NATO summit in Washington, Meloni — who in June abstained from the vote to back von der Leyen’s reelection — stated that she wants Italy’s prominence in the EU to be recognised and that she intends to secure a top spot for Rome in the EU Commission.
Should Meloni and the ECR decline to back von der Leyen, the implications could be serious.
According to Antonio Parenti, the European Commission representative in Italy, given the difficult times that lie ahead, the vote must ensure Europe doesn’t plunge into a political crisis.
“Both Italy and other EU countries have to ensure this vote allows EU institutions to be fully operational,” Parenti said. “Let’s not forget that the historic moment we face is very volatile.”
“We have a war on our doorstep, and even what happened in the US a few days ago makes us understand we are not going through an easy time.”
Thousands of dinosaur footprints have been found in a national part in northern Italy known as the Parco Nazionale dello Stelvio Branchi.
Experts say they are from enormous herbivores that lived there 210 million years ago in the Triassic period.
On the latest Sporticast episode, hosts Scott Soshnick and Eben Novy-Williams discuss some of the biggest sports business stories of the week, including the latest in a strange sports real estate story.
In 2012, Michael Jordan listed his Bulls-era mansion outside Chicago for about $29 million, or $41 million in today’s dollars. It took more than a decade and multiple price drops for the home to sell, which it did late last year for $9.5 million. The buyer, a partner in a local real estate firm, has since tried multiple ways to monetize the property. Initially he tried to sell timeshares for $1 million each, but that plan was thwarted by the local town council. He’s back in front of that same council this week, seeking approvals related to his next plan: to build a “multi-sensory experience focused entirely on personal transformation.” The tourist attraction would require the use of a parking lot on an adjacent nature preserve.
Next the hosts discuss major upset in college sports. Nebraska’s women’s volleyball team, the top seed in this year’s NCAA tournament, was upset by Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. Riding a wave of volleyball commercial growth, the Huskers spent more on the sport than any other public school in the country, according to numbers from Sportico‘s college finance database. The team reported $2.57 million in ticket sales during the 2023-24 school year, the third highest total for any women’s team at any public school in the country, trailing only Iowa and UConn women’s basketball.
They close by taking about the Big 12‘s proposed private equity plan. A few days after Big 12 member Utah laid out its own on-campus capital ambitions, Sportico reported that the Big 12 is in talks to set up what essentially amounts to a credit facility for its members via a potential partnership with RedBird Capital-backed Collegiate Athletic Solutions.
(You can subscribe to Sporticast through Apple, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcasts.)
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Bystanders were seen on video confronting a gunman before his ISIS-inspired deadly mass shooting at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, could begin.
Despite their efforts to disarm him, the gunman eventually overpowered the two bystanders and killed them, according to authorities.
The bystanders were later identified as Boris and Sofia Gurman, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The outlet reported that the Gurmans were walking by as they saw the assailant exiting a vehicle. Though Boris had the upper hand for a moment after picking up the shooter’s rifle, the attacker allegedly picked up another rifle during the confrontation and fatally shot the couple, making them the first victims of the massacre.
“We are heartbroken by the sudden and senseless loss of our beloved Boris and Sofia Gurman,” the family said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. “While nothing can lessen the pain of losing Boris and Sofia, we feel an overwhelming sense of pride in their bravery and selflessness.”
RABBI KILLED IN SYDNEY HANUKKAH ATTACK HAD WARNED AUSTRALIAN PM ABOUT RISING ANTISEMITISM
Bystanders were seen confronting one of the gunmen behind the deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Australia’s Bondi Beach. (Jenny/Reuters)
In the video, obtained and verified by Reuters, an eyewitness replaying the dashcam footage recalls how the incident unfolded.
“You see the shooter here — he fired shots from here, shooting from here. And then look, this guy went and tackled him (shooter), knocking him to the ground. At that point, he had already grabbed the gun,” the witness, who was speaking in Mandarin, said in the video, according to a Reuters translation.
Authorities have identified the shooters as a father, 50, and a son, 24. The father was killed at the scene, while the son was shot by police and taken to the hospital in critical condition. Australian authorities also said that the shooters had improvised explosives and homemade ISIS flags in their vehicle.
On Sunday, the pair opened fire on families celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people and leaving more than two dozen injured. The Australian government is investigating the incident as a terror attack targeting the Jewish community.
GAL GADOT, ASHTON KUTCHER CONDEMN ANTISEMITIC TERROR ATTACK AT BONDI BEACH HANUKKAH EVENT
Police teams take security measures at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday after a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community during the first night of Hanukkah. ( Claudio Galdames A/Anadolu via Getty Images)
During the deadly rampage, another bystander, Ahmed al Ahmed, an Australian immigrant, wrestled a gun away from one of the shooters. His attorney said that Ahmed does not regret intervening, despite being “riddled with bullets” and in intense pain.
“He doesn’t regret what he did. He said he’d do it again. But the pain has started to take a toll on him,” Ahmed’s attorney, Sam Issa, told The Sydney Morning Herald. “He’s not well at all. He’s riddled with bullets. Our hero is struggling at the moment.”
The outlet reported that Ahmed has undergone his first round of surgery and that Issa fears the hero bystander may lose his left arm.
“He’s a lot worse than expected. When you think of a bullet in the arm, you don’t think of serious injuries, but he has lost a lot of blood,” Issa said.
President Donald Trump praised Ahmed for his actions, calling him “a very, very brave person” and saying that he has “great respect” for him.
People attend a floral memorial in honor of the victims of a mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Sunday, at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Australia, Dec. 16, 2025. (Flavio Brancaleone/Reuters)
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The Bondi Beach attack is the worst mass shooting Australia has seen since the country implemented sweeping reforms after a shooter killed 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania, in 1996. Following the Bondi Beach attack, Australian leaders have vowed to strengthen the country’s already restrictive gun laws.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced several proposed actions, including limiting the number of guns one can possess.
“The government is prepared to take whatever action is necessary. Included in that is the need for tougher gun laws,” he said after meeting with his National Cabinet.
Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano, Bradford Betz and Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
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